asked and to prevent then from being subjected to unfair cross-
examination. However, a lack of awareness of the problems children
have in giving evidence, together with an unwillingness to interfere
significantly in the presentation of the defence case, combine to make
the experience of giving evidence unnecessarily upsetting and difficult
for many children.
Different issues arise in relation to children who are defendants in
criminal trials. Almost all children accused of breaking the law are dealt
with in special Juvenile Courts. These are generally much more informal
that adult courts and sentencing practices have an explicit orientation
towards rehabilitation, with custodial sentences being a last resort only
used for repeat offenders convinced of serious crimes. The use of policecautioning is also an integral part of the response to juvenile crime.
In the past, the welfare orientation of juvenile courts has been a source
of injustice for some children. The use of vague “status offences” such
as being in moral danger or being beyond the control of parents has been
a means whereby adolescents have been placed in state care “for their
own good”, but against their will, as a means of controlling their
behaviour. Furthermore, the informal nature of court proceedings has
justified failures to observe due process. Under modern juvenile court
principles, due process is meant to be observed, while courts are
required in sentencing to show a proportionality between the offence
and the sentence. Nonetheless, may problems remain. Juvenile
defendants are amongst the many groups in society who suffer from the
pressure to reduce the public costs of justice.
Multiculturalism and the Legal Tradition
The challenge of inclusion is also the challenge of adapting the legal
system to the demands of a multicultural society. The Nigerian
government’s official policy on multiculturalism. One of the
government’s law by this translates into systematically examining the
implicit cultural assumptions of the law and the legal system to identify
the manner in which they may unintentionally act to disadvantage
certain.
Multiculturalism means different things to different people. In terms of
the legal system, the claim to respect for the rights of minorities maytake five different forms. First, an acceptance of cultural diversity means (^)
that the freedom of particular groups to enjoy their culture or religion
should not be restricted unless this is necessary to protect the human
rights of other. The rights of minorities to be able to practice their
religion and maintain their culture are protected by various conventions
in international law. For example, Art 27 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights provides that in States which have ethnic,
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